The finish on your flute is a Tung Oil blend. This means that it requires very little care.

If you display your flute, just dust it regularly with a soft cloth or duster.

​Should you wish or need to restore the shine, you can rub the wood with vegetable oil, available from the grocery store, if you do not already have it available in your kitchen.

​If you want to wax your flute, you can use Minwax Paste Finishing Wax, or if you want something used by woodworkers for food products, use Beeswax/Carnauba/Mineral oil finish. Clarks's or Clapham's are two good ones, available from Amazon, or other woodworking sites.

Display

Your flute is obviously a wood product. The two things that are enemies of finished wood are light and dryness.

Light will fade the wood over time, especially direct sunlight. AVOID DISPLAYING YOUR FLUTE IN A WINDOW WHERE IT WILL BE EXPOSED TO DIRECT SUNLIGHT. The UV light, plus the heat from the sunlight, will fade and dry the wood, and greatly harm your flute. If you wish to display your flute, be sure it is in an interior room away from direct sunlight.

Direct light from an incandescent bulb can also do damage to the finish. Do not expose your flute to the heat and drying effect of a direct incandescent spot light or bulb.

The safest way to keep the wood of your flute moist and away from damaging UV light is to keep it in a flute bag, or other protective covering. If you live in a dry area, wooden instruments, such as violins, are kept moist through use of a Dampit Violin Moistener, available from Amazon. This is a wick that you soak in water, then insert into the inside of the wooden instrument and leave there when you put it away. It helps keep the wood from drying out.

Fetish

Even if you are careful to play with a "dry mouth," you will occasionally get moisture buildup under the fetish. This is because as you blow into your flute, the air from your breath moves under the fetish and through a small slot beneath the fetish, then out the front of the base of the bird and across the sounding hole. This air contains moisture from your breath and can collect beneath the fetish. If too much moisture is left there, it can cause swelling and splitting of the wood over time. Occasionally you will need to remove the fetish and be sure this wood on the top of the flute is dry and smooth.

Simply untie the knot in the leather strapping holding the fetish in place and unwrap it, being careful to hold the wooden fetish as you unwrap the leather so the fetish does not fall onto the floor or table and break.

Lift the fetish off, making a mental note how it was placed so you can re-wrap the leather to locate the fetish in the proper location. You can refer to the photograph below for the proper placement of the fetish:

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​Simply re-tie the leather strip at the bottom of the flute, being sure to pull the leather as tight as possible so the fetish is held firmly in place.